PIRATE BOYS TENNIS BEATS FERGUS FALLS, LOSES TO EGF

The Crookston Pirate Boys Tennis team had a beautiful afternoon for tennis and lost to the East Grand Forks Green Wave 4-3 before bouncing back to beat Fergus Falls 5-2 in two Section 8A matchups in a triangular played in East Grand Forks.

CROOKSTON VS EAST GRAND FORKS –
Crookston and East Grand Forks opened up their seasons with losses to Minnewaska Area.  Crookston lost 4-3, and East Grand Forks lost 7-0.  So both teams weren’t sure what to expect going into the section matchup, thinking it would be a close match.  They were correct in their assumptions as East Grand Forks used a bit of a different lineup and beat the Pirates 4-3. 
East Grand Forks showed they have some solid players at the top of their singles and doubles line-up, but Crookston showed they have a little more depth.  
East Grand Forks won the first and second singles matches in straight sets.  They also won the first and second doubles matches in straight sets for their four wins.  
Crookston’s wins came at third singles, with Reggie Winjum winning easily 6-0, 6-0. “He was his normal consistent self and played a great match,” said Coach Pat Janorschke. Isaac Thomforde won easily at four singles 6-1, 6-1.” Isaac is playing well to start the season,” said Coach Janorschke. “He plays hard and has made a great improvement over the few years he has been playing tennis.”  The third victory came with a hard-fought win at third doubles, with Tim Brule and Sam Widseth winning 7-5, 6-4. “Those two give it 100 percent in practice, and I told them they were going to get a chance, and they are taking advantage of it,” said coach Janorschke. “They have been playing some great tennis so far this season.”
East Grand Forks, who graduated over a handful of players from last year’s team, earned a 4-3 victory.  It looks like the teams will have some good battles throughout the season. “We started the match a little slow and played a lot better in the second set,” said Coach Janorschke. “The guys turned the second set around, and we will see the Green Wave a few more times this year.”

CROOKSTON VS FERGUS FALLS-
Crookston’s second and final opponent of the day was the Fergus Falls Otters, who also graduated most of their lineup from last year.  Fergus Falls proved to be solid at the top of the lineup with wins at first and second singles.  Crookston’s Erik Coauette won the first set of his first singles match 6-4 before losing the second set 6-2, which forced a third set.  Erik played a great match but came up short in a 10-7 loss. “He had an excellent match, and it could have gone either way,” said Coach Janorschke. “He is another player that has improved from last year, and he is going to have a great season for us.”
Crookston won the remaining five matches as the bottom of the singles lineup continued their outstanding play.  Reggie Winjum, at third singles, won a three-setter 6-1, 4-6, 10-7. “Reggie took it to him in the first set,” said Coach Janorschke. “After struggling in the second set, Reggie bounced back to get the win and played better in the third set, and that was good to see him fight back to get the win.” Isaac Thomforde won easily at fourth singles with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. “He started a little slow in the first set,” said Coach Janorshcke. “He picked up his play and finished strong.”  Winjum and Thomforde have a combined 11-1 record this season. “They are a couple of young guys stepping up their game this year,” said Coach Janorschke. “They have had a great start to the season and have played well.  It shows our team depth when we can go out knowing we will likely get two wins in those spots in the lineup.”
The First doubles team of Evan Christensen and Jack Garmen struggled in the first set before settling in to win 6-4, 6-0.  “They started slow and just weren’t on the same page early on,” said Coach Janorschke. “They picked things up and dominated the rest of the match, which was good to see.”
Second doubles, Nathan Kelly and Kaleb Armstrong, won the longest match of the day by a 6-4, 6-4 score. “That was a long battle.  Kaleb is always good at the net,” said Coach Janorschke. “We put Nathan with him today, and they got used to playing with each other and outlasted their opponents in the match, and it was good to see them grind out a win.”
Two youngsters paired up again at third doubles as Tim Brule and Sam Widseth won 6-2, 6-1 to give Crookston the 5-2 victory.  “They had a great day today,” said Coach Janorschke. “They battle out there, play hard, and give it their all, and it is good to see them get rewarded with two wins today.”

Crookston is now 2-4 on the year and is scheduled to be at Bemidji on Thursday, but that has been postponed to a later date.